Rupe's in the Tribune tribe

News Corp. mainly interested in Newsday

By JILL GOLDSMITH

Murdoch

The soap opera Tribune sale took an unexpected twist Tuesday as Rupert Murdoch joined the Chandler family in its bid for the Los Angeles Times parent.

Murdoch's giant News Corp., which owns the New York Post, is said to be mainly interested in cozying up with Tribune's Long Island paper Newsday. Combining the two newspapers' backroom operations would help cut costs at the Post, which continues to lose money despite rising circulation.

The idea, according to press reports Tuesday evening, is that News Corp. would take a minority stake in a bid put forward by the Chandlers and their backers -- one of several offers that Tribune is considering. Federal regs on media ownership would likely make it impossible for Murdoch to buy Newsday outright. Along with the Post, News Corp. also owns a number of TV stations in the New York market.

However, Murdoch has overcome regulatory hurdles before. And his surprise appearance on the scene is sure to set tongues wagging, whether speculating on his interest in storied Newsday -- one of Tribune's largest papers -- or the possibility that he could be eyeing other parts of the Tribune empire.

The Chicago company put itself up for sale last year under pressure by the Chandlers, large Trib shareholders who were unhappy with its stock price and strategy. When the bids that came in were underwhelming, Tribune extended the sale process into early this year.

Final bids were due last week. The Chandlers made an offer. So did the team of Ron Burkle and Eli Broad, the Los Angeles billionaire businessmen who have said they'd like to see the L.A. Times back in local hands. Neither offer represented a substantial premium to Tribune's current share price -- although, as the Chandlers have noted, the stock's been goosed in recent months by sale speculation.

Trib's other papers include the Chicago Tribune and the Hartford Courant; there are also 23 TV stations and the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

The Chandlers, who sold their Times Mirror company to Tribune in 2000, would like to take the newspaper assets private and spin off the broadcasting biz.

DreamWorks co-founder David Geffen had made an offer for the L.A. Times alone, which Tribune initially rejected. Private equity firm the Carlyle Group is said to have submitted a bid for the TV stations.

Tribune is still leaving its options open, and it's unclear what course the company will take. It said over the weekend that it was considering all alternatives, including "potential transactions with third parties as well as actions the company may take alone."